Multiple news reports: John Kerry to State

There's no official announcement yet, but multiple media sources claim that Sen. John Kerry will get the appointment.

If true, it would be the successful culmination of Senate Republican efforts to push President Barack Obama in that direction. Kerry has overtly wanted the gig for a long time, and it seemed the only thing that stood in his way was Susan Rice. With her successful dispatch over a bogus scandal, Kerry was the natural successor.

This is important because it opens up the Massachusetts Senate race to a special election, and one in which Scott Brown will likely feature as the comeback candidate. Brown significantly outperformed his ticket, losing by eight points while former home-state governor Mitt Romney lost by 23. And let's not forget, the most potent argument Elizabeth Warren had against Brown -- that his reelection could deliver the U.S. Senate to Mitch McConnell, is no longer operative.

Brown may have taken a hit in the state this past election, particularly given his nasty, racist campaign. But he remains surprisingly popular for a Republican in a Indigo Blue state. A special election won't be a sure hold for our party. It'll be nuclear war.

4. I'm with you...

6. I understand the risks for MA, but this really is a very good choice for SoS. & I'm not

ashamed to humble myself and seek whatever the "ultimate truth" is, whether others like the word God or not and I think John Kerry is the sort of person to whom truth matters the most too, so he will SEEK it.

9. Just try to be sure that it is the WHOLE truth, which includes who it is exactly that allows

that to happen and that, in my book, includes (amongst others) those who are busy right this minute on this board and elsewhere ripping ground out from under whoever the candidate is, before s/he even has a chance to get there. These are anti-Solidarity actors from ALL quarters who, because of the anonymity of the internet and because of Citizens United, present themselves as what they call "the Left" but are really much closer to pure base-building fascists, more interested in power for power's sake alone than they are anything else.

***IF*** it happens, I'll be watching for how close you are to the WHOLE truth.

12. Be happy to

3. I think we might have been looking at a SPLIT Republican party on this nomination. There could have

been those who wanted Rice's American Exceptionalist ties to dirty oil and intelligence ties throughout Southwest Asia, including Israel, and, then, others trying to re-orient, or at least re-prioritize, themselves geo-politically . . .

5. No multiple reports

Multiple people quoting Sneed from the Chicago SUN.

It may be true, but even if true, it is full of holes.

And from somebody who clearly does not get MA. Romney is so totally unpopular he did not try to run for a second term. The difference between Brown and him reflects Romney's weakness more than Brown's strength.

14. Apparently, the only problem with losing many years of John Kerry in the Senate is Scott Brown

At least, that's the tone of almost everything I've read. To me, it's borderline tragic to think that instead of another 8 or 14 years of Senator Kerry we may get only 4 years of Kerry acting as Obama's mouthpiece. But according to almost all coverage I've seen, the only value Senator Kerry has for the Senate is that he keeps the seat away from Scott Brown, and so if we can just make sure we get a Democrat -- *any* Democrat -- we're golden.

15. What is also tragic is that many here (not in this group, but on DU) would prefer

Vicky Kennedy or Caroline Kennedy as a replacement rather than somebody who has actually participated in the political life of the state. No offense to Ted Kennedy who has proven himself a great senator, but the state is not limited to the Kennedy family. We will already have a very inexperienced senator, may be we can elect somebody who has some notions of how laws are made.

Frankly, I will miss Kerry, but I do not expect the media and "mediavore" people of DU to feel the same way. They still live with the "If the media said so, it must be true" theme.